2DBZ x Soundset: Mike the Martyr Interview

blame it on Paul ThompsonJune 10, 2014

Two weeks ago, Rhymesayers Entertainment held their seventh annual Soundset Festival in Shakopee, MPLS. Selling out with 30,000 people in attendance, this year's event was easily the most-successful to date. Just as we do every 365, the DopeHouse made the trek across the country to take in the festivities and once again left completely satisfied. We also took the time and spoke with a few artists and will be sharing those quick conversations with you over the course of the week as well. Up first, Mike the Martyr.

I almost walked right into Mike The Martyr. The rapper-producer responsible for the beats on Muja Messiah’s God Kissed It The Devil Missed It was standing on the fringe of the small-stage crowd, waiting patiently for Roc Marciano’s set. But his time in the shadows may be drawing to a close: after touching on his work on Muja’s just-released set and his relationships with Minneapolis luminaries, Mike announces a forthcoming partnership with one of the most legendary crews in rap history.

How was it to lace the whole album for Muja Messiah?

Man, very, very good. One of the best things he ever did for me—he and Brother Ali have a relationship; I’m a lot of years younger than him. He got Brother Ali on my beat and exposed Brother Ali to my music, and that meant a lot to me, because I couldn’t break through to him. That was really great. Muja and I go back several years. He and I have actually recorded a couple albums; this is just the one that finally came out. I love the album. It’s the first one I’ve produced in full, it means a lot to me.

What’s your relationship with rappers like Ali and Slug now?

At [Muja Messiah’s release party], he listened to my set and let me know I did a good job. We go back, we had just had awkward moments because we came up around the same time. I probably noticed it more than him. Slug, I look up to him like a mentor, a big bro. He hits me up with advice and stuff like that. I might send out a tweet, looking a little emotional or angry or something like that, and he’ll call me and say, “Hey, are you okay?” That means a lot to me. My friends won’t even do that sometimes.

What’re you working on now?

I’m working on a new album, Marbury. I’m going to be working with A.G. a lot more. He’s told me he wants to sign me to D.I.T.C. Records and put out a Mike The Martyr project. They’re going to finish the business or whatever, but they’re flying me out.